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You cannot pick a property up and move it into a limited company. What actually happens is a sale: your company buys the property from you at market value, with stamp duty for the company, possibly capital gains tax for you, legal work on both sides and a brand new mortgage. For some landlords the long term tax position justifies all of that. For plenty of others it does not, and the honest starting point is that this is an accountant’s decision before it is ever a mortgage one.
This guide sets out what the move really involves and what each stage costs, so that conversation starts in the right place. If your accountant has already run the numbers and the answer is yes, the mortgage side is where I come in.
Why a transfer is really a sale
A limited company is a separate legal person. It cannot be handed a property, it has to buy it, even though you own both sides of the transaction. And because you and your company are connected parties, HMRC values the sale at open market value whatever figure appears on the paperwork. That one rule drives almost every cost below: the stamp duty, the capital gains position and the size of the new mortgage all key off what the property is actually worth, not what you paid for it.
What stamp duty does the company pay?
The company pays stamp duty land tax on the full market value, and because it is buying a dwelling it pays the additional property rates, which include the 5% surcharge. It makes no difference that you are effectively selling to yourself.
On a £300,000 property in England the additional rates work out at £20,000: 5% on the first £125,000, 7% on the next £125,000 and 10% on the remaining £50,000. Rates correct as at August 2026. You can check the bands for any price with my stamp duty calculator.
A transfer is legally a sale. Your company buys the property from you at market value, however little money actually moves.
The company pays stamp duty on the full market value at the additional property rates, including the 5% surcharge.
Selling to your own company is a capital gains disposal. Gains are taxed at 18% or 24% after the £3,000 exempt amount.
Your existing mortgage is repaid on completion. The company needs its own buy to let mortgage, usually with a personal guarantee.
Whether the tax position justifies the cost is your accountant’s sum to run. Once the answer is yes, the mortgage side is mine.
What capital gains tax might you pay?
Selling to your company is a disposal for capital gains tax, again at market value. If the property has gained in value since you bought it, you may owe CGT personally at 18% or 24% on the gain, depending on your income tax band, after the £3,000 annual exempt amount. Residential disposals also have to be reported and paid within 60 days of completion.
There is a relief that can defer the gain, called incorporation relief. It generally needs the lettings to amount to a genuine property business rather than a passive investment, which most landlords with one or two properties will struggle to show, and for transfers from 6 April 2026 it has to be claimed rather than applying automatically. Whether you would qualify, and whether the whole move saves money over time, is exactly the calculation to pay an accountant to run. I say the same to my own clients: this is an accountant question first and a mortgage question second.
What happens to the mortgage?
Your existing mortgage cannot move across. It is a contract with you personally, so it is repaid on completion, which means checking any early repayment charge before you commit to a date. The company then needs its own buy to let mortgage in place to fund its purchase.
Lenders will expect the company to be a special purpose vehicle set up to hold property, with the right SIC code, usually 68100 or 68209, and almost all of them will want a personal guarantee from you as director. I have covered the company setup itself in my guide to setting up an SPV for buy to let, and the wider lending picture on my limited company mortgages page.
When does moving to a company still make sense?
Inside a company, mortgage interest is a normal business expense set against rental profits, where a personal landlord gets a 20% tax credit instead. Profits are taxed at corporation tax rates rather than income tax rates, which is the main draw for higher rate taxpayers who want to reinvest rent rather than live on it.
Against that sit the one off costs above, which land per property, plus the running costs of a company covered below. The break even point is different for every landlord because it depends on your tax band, the size of the gain, the rents and how long you plan to hold, which is why the modelling matters. My article on buying in a company versus personally covers how the two structures compare for a new purchase.
Is it easier to leave old properties alone and buy the next one in a company?
Often, yes, and it is a common outcome of the accountant conversation. Buying your next property through the company from day one gets you the company structure without triggering stamp duty or capital gains on anything you already own, because nothing is being sold.
Plenty of landlords run a mixed portfolio for exactly this reason: existing properties stay personal, new purchases go through the company. Lenders are entirely used to it.
Speak to an expert
Weighing up a move into a limited company? Once your accountant says yes, I arrange the company mortgage. Call me on 01425 203055 or email info@htgmortgages.com and I will line the numbers up.
What does the process look like step by step?
First the accountant models it and tells you whether it is worth doing at all. If it is, the company gets set up, the company applies for its buy to let mortgage, and conveyancers act on both sides of the sale, one for you and one for the company. On completion your old mortgage is repaid, the company’s begins, and the company files its stamp duty return. From the mortgage side it runs like any other company purchase.
What does it cost to run afterwards?
A property company files annual accounts and a confirmation statement with Companies House, and a corporation tax return with HMRC, which for most landlords means paying an accountant every year. Lender pricing for company buy to let also tends to differ from personal buy to let, and arrangement fees can be structured differently. None of that makes the structure wrong, it just belongs in the sums.
The costs in one place
For the transfer itself, budget for stamp duty at the additional rates on market value, any capital gains tax on your disposal, valuation and lender fees, and legal fees on both sides. My broker fee is a flat £350, set out plainly on my fees page. Your accountant’s fee for the modelling belongs on the list too, and it is the one item I would never skip.
So what should you actually do?
Get the modelling done before anything else. Take your accountant the current values, the outstanding mortgage balances, your purchase prices and your income, and let them tell you whether incorporation actually saves you money and over what timescale.
If the answer is yes, that is when to talk to me. I arrange the company mortgage, line the timings up against any early repayment charges and deal with the lender’s SPV requirements. Book a call, phone me on 01425 203055 or WhatsApp on 07731 675537. There is more for landlords in my buy to let hub.
The stamp duty side of any purchase, surcharge included, is covered with current figures in stamp duty on a buy to let.
Update, August 2026: the backdrop to this decision shifts in April 2027, when income tax on rental profits held in your personal name rises to 22%, 42% and 47%. That strengthens the case for getting the structure right before you buy rather than transferring later. I have covered what the April 2027 landlord tax rise changes.
Need Personal Mortgage Advice?
Every buyer’s situation is different. While this guide explains the general rules, the right mortgage for you depends on your income, deposit, credit history and future plans. If you’d like tailored advice, I’m here to help, with whole-of-market coverage.
The Mortgage Works published fresh landlord data for Q2 2026 showing 40% of leveraged landlords expect to remortgage or transfer in the next 12 months, and 23% of those plan to do it through a limited company. I’ve broken down what else the data shows in this Q2 2026 buy to let market update.
